Enhanced enterprise data sharing to mobile device users

ABSTRACT

Enhanced data sharing from the enterprise to end users involves receiving a data sharing command on an administrative control panel. The data sharing command has a selection of content, identity information of a communication session initiator, and identity information of a communication session recipient. A submission request, which includes the content and identity information of the initiator is transmitted to a computing device associated with the recipient. Local records on the recipient computing device are updatable with the received visual content and the identity information of the initiator. This data is presentable to the recipient upon an incoming communications session request.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 17/183,964, filed Feb. 24, 2021 and entitled“ENHANCED DATA SHARING TO AND BETWEEN MOBILE DEVICE USERS,” which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/590,036, filed Oct. 1,2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,965,630, issued Mar. 30, 2021 and entitled“ENHANCED DATA SHARING TO AND BETWEEN MOBILE DEVICE USERS,” which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/523,250, filed Jul.26, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,992,621, issued Apr. 27, 2021 andentitled “ENHANCED DATA SHARING TO AND BETWEEN MOBILE DEVICE USERS,”which relates to and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 62/714,515, filed Aug. 3, 2018, and U.S. Provisional Application No.62/834,197, filed Apr. 15, 2019, the contents of each of which areexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunication systemsand, more particularly, to cellular telecommunications, smartphoneapplications, enterprise communications systems.

2. Related Art

Smartphones, social networks, and telecommunication systems facilitatethe sharing of comments, photographs, and other data amongst mobileusers. These users typically establish accounts for smartphone datastorage, application downloads and social networks, create profilescontaining basic biographic data, and create individual contact lists toshare personal data and communicate with. The subject matter of commentsposted on social networking sites oftentimes touch upon daily lifeexperiences, including those relating to user status, commentary, andphotographs. Today over 70% of all social posts occur on mobilesmartphone devices. Accordingly, the viewing and sharing ofuser-generated content on smartphones to social networking sites fromsmartphones provides users a valuable and entertaining experience.

Various social network systems offering mobile applications forsmartphone users to post are known in the art, including Facebook,LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and so forth. Unfortunately, however, thelogic of these systems, in order to take action and provide user postsin the form of status, commentary, videos, and photographs, are designedspecifically for use and display within the respective social networksand do not contemplate usage for real-time native smartphone telephonyinteractions.

Another problem that besets social network applications in providinguser posts in the form of status, commentary, videos, and photographs isthat social networks do not have the logic or know-how to mix user postsand selected user personal data with smartphone telephony interactionsand match it with user selected individuals of smartphone devices anduser-initiated telephony interactions. As a result, extending socialuser post capabilities to smartphone telephony interactions has yet tobe made available.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art to connect user social postcapabilities in the form of status, commentary, videos, photographs, andother directed content with smartphone user contact records andsubsequent smartphone telephony interactions so that users can sharevarious status types such as status, commentary, videos, photographs,and other content with their contacts, affiliated groups and/or desiredrecipients or any combination of people at the onset of a smartphonetelephony or other visual telephony interaction via a phone line, celltower, or the internet based on system and user defined parameters.

In addition, there is a need in the art to extend current social postand profile capabilities to be more personalized/individualized anddynamic so that users can share specific content and specific profilepictures with individual contacts, groups and/or desired recipients ofany combination of people within their respective social networks.

Some of these drawbacks are addressed by the system described in U.S.Patent Application Pub. No. 2016/0241672, entitled “SYSTEM FOR BRIDGING,MANAGING, AND PRESENTING SMARTPHONE AND OTHER DATA FILES WITH TELEPHONYINTERACTIONS,” the entire contents of which is hereby whollyincorporated by reference. However, additional functionality forenhancing social and telephony interactions is desirable, as well asfunctionality for enhancing non-social communications between consumersand businesses, municipalities, or other service providers.

In this regard, telephone calls initiated by such entities to consumersfrequently go unanswered or ignored as they appear to originate fromunknown numbers. Modern smartphones are equipped with calleridentification functions in which the incoming call screen shows thecalling number. Because such numbers are typically not added into thecontact list of the smartphone, the specific identity of the caller isnot immediately apparent. By some estimates, nearly 90% of consumers donot answer calls from unknown numbers because the vast majority of callsend up being unwanted commercial solicitations (spam) or worse, such asscamsters/fraudsters. Indeed, even the Federal Communications Commissioncautions not to answer calls from unknown numbers, as almost 50.5billion robocalls were made in 2021 alone. Thus, reaching customers onimportant matters such as appointment reminders, school closures, flightdelays, test results, subscription renewals, and the like may bedelayed, or go ignored altogether. Although consumers consider thepersonal smartphone their communications channel of choice, because ofthe high volume of unwanted calls, there is understood to be very littletrust.

There is accordingly a need in the art for enhanced enterprise datasharing to mobile device users that enable the presentation of thecaller's identity beyond the originating number, so that customers areable to answer the needed or wanted calls. Furthermore, there is a needin the art to increase the answer rates and first call resolution ratesfor enterprise call centers.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure contemplates various embodiments of a systemembedded into a smartphone application to allow an enterprise to controlwhat is displayed when a customer is called by the enterprise. Contentthat is presented on the customer's smartphone may be selected by theenterprise administrator to communicate to the user the identity of thecaller as well as the reason for calling.

According to one embodiment of the disclosure, there may be anon-transitory program storage medium on which are stored instructionsexecutable by a processor or programmable circuit to perform operationsfor enhancing data sharing. The operations may include receiving a datasharing command on an administrative control panel. The data sharingcommand may include a selection of content, identity information of acommunication session initiator, and identity information of acommunication session recipient. The operations may also includetransmitting a submission request to a computing device associated withthe selected communication session recipient. This step may take placein response and corresponding to the data sharing command. Thesubmission request may include the visual content and the identityinformation of the communication session initiator. In response to areceipt of the submission request, local records on the computing deviceassociated with the selected communication session recipient may beupdatable with the received visual content and the identity informationof the communication session initiator. This data may be presentable tothe communication session recipient upon an incoming communicationssession request.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there may bea method for enhanced enterprise data sharing to end users. There may bea step of receiving a data sharing command on a control panel for anenterprise data sharing administration system. The data sharing commandmay include a selection of content, identity information of acommunication session initiator, and identity information of acommunication session recipient. There may also be a step oftransmitting a submission request in response and corresponding to thedata sharing command. This submission request may originate from theenterprise data sharing administration system and received by acomputing device associated with the selected communication sessionrecipient. The submission request may include the content and theidentity information of the communication session initiator. The methodmay also include updating local records on the computing device that isassociated with the selected communication session recipient. Suchupdate may be based upon the received content and the identityinformation of the communication session initiator. There may also be astep of initiating the communication session from the communicationsession initiator to the communication session recipient. There methodmay also include presenting the updated content and the identityinformation of the communication session initiator. This step may beperformed in response to the initiated communication session.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure may be a non-transitoryprogram storage medium on which are stored instructions executable by aprocessor or programmable circuit to perform operations for enhancingdata sharing. The operations may include receiving a submission requeston a computing device associated with a communication session recipient.The submission request may include content and identity information of acommunication session initiator. The operations may also includeupdating, with the received submission request, a local record on thecomputing device associated with the communication session initiator.There may also be a step of receiving an incoming request to initiate acommunication session from the communication session initiatorindependently of receiving the submission request. The operations mayalso include presenting the content and the identity information asupdated in the local record on the computing device that is associatedwith the communication session recipient.

The present disclosure contemplates various systems, methods, andapparatuses for overcoming the above drawbacks accompanying the relatedart.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like partsthroughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system thatconnects and displays selected user personal smartphone data posts inconjunction with smartphone telephony interactions for selectedsmartphone contact records in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting the system for connecting anddisplaying selected user personal smartphone data posts across multiplesmartphone devices;

FIG. 3A is a sequence of screenshots showing a user interface of amobile application running on a mobile device belonging to a sender ofan image from among the various mobile devices that connects to thesystem;

FIG. 3B is another sequence of screenshots showing the user interface ofthe mobile application running on the sender's mobile device;

FIG. 4A is a sequence of screenshots of a mobile device belonging to arecipient of the image from among the various mobile devices thatconnect to the system;

FIG. 4B is another sequence of screenshots of the recipient's mobiledevice, including a screenshot showing a user interface of a mobileapplication running on the recipient's mobile device;

FIG. 5 is another sequence of screenshots showing the user interface ofthe mobile application running on the recipient's mobile device;

FIG. 6 is a sequence of screenshots showing the user interface of themobile application on a sender's mobile device implementingtime-limited, secure video sharing in accordance with another embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a sequence of screenshots showing the user interface of themobile application on a recipient's mobile device implementingtime-limited, secure video sharing;

FIG. 8A shows an example operational flow according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 8B shows another example operational flow according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a sequence of screenshots showing a user interface of a mobileapplication running on sender's and receiver's mobile devices from amongthe various mobile devices that connect to the system;

FIG. 10A shows another example operational flow according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10B shows another example operational flow according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11A shows another example operational flow according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11B shows another example operational flow according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12A is a sequence of screenshots showing a user interface of anative call controller of a mobile device belonging to a sender of animage from among the various mobile devices that connects to the system;

FIG. 12B is another sequence of screenshots showing the user interfaceof the native call controller running on the sender's mobile device;

FIG. 13 is a pair of screenshots showing the user interfaces of thenative call controller of the mobile device as a call is being placed;

FIG. 14 is a pair of screenshots showing the user interfaces of thenative call controller of the mobile device as a call is being received;

FIG. 15 shows an example operational flow according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 16 shows an example data sharing system according to an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example operational flowaccording to still another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a screenshot of an exemplary administrative interface orcontrol panel for an enterprise data sharing administration systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a screenshot of an exemplary administrative interface of theenterprise data sharing administration system for editing a contactmanaged thereby according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 20A and 20B are screenshots of an exemplary mobile deviceinterface showing the contact information of a communications sessioninitiator, and an incoming call screen;

FIG. 21 is a screenshot of a content selection screen of theadministrative interface;

FIG. 22 is a screenshot of the administrative interface editing thecontact after a different selection of content to be shared therewithhas been made;

FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B are screenshots of selecting differentnotification modalities in the administrative interface;

FIG. 24 is a screenshot of the mobile device interface showing anotification that the content has been updated;

FIG. 25 is a screenshot of a native contact list detail screen for thecommunication session initiator;

FIG. 26 is a screenshot of a native call handler generating an alert ofan incoming call with the updated content being presented thereon;

FIG. 27 is a screenshot of the administrative interface adding a newcontact.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure encompasses various embodiments of systems,methods, and apparatuses for enhancing data sharing between mobile orother computing device users. The detailed description set forth belowin connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description ofseveral currently contemplated embodiments and is not intended torepresent the only form in which the disclosed invention may bedeveloped or utilized. The description sets forth the functions andfeatures in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to beunderstood, however, that the same or equivalent functions may beaccomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to beencompassed within the scope of the present disclosure. It is furtherunderstood that the use of relational terms such as first and second andthe like are used solely to distinguish one from another entity withoutnecessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or orderbetween such entities.

With reference to the block diagram of FIG. 1, there is a system 100that connects and displays selected user personal smartphone data withsmartphone telephony interactions. In accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the communications system 100 is contemplated tobridge smartphone or otherwise stored personal data, smartphonetelephony interactions and social networks. The system 100 includessmartphone user access point and data proxy 105, which are connected tovarious smartphone user interfaces and data 200-215. By way of example,there is a user A interface and data 200 that is connected to the useraccess point and data proxy 105 over a connection 500, a user Binterface and data 205 that is connected to the user access point anddata proxy 105 over a connection 501, and a user C interface and data210 that is connected to the user access point and data proxy 105 over aconnection 503. These three user interface and data are presented by wayof example only, and any additional number of user interfaces and datamay be connectible to the user data access point and data proxy 105,e.g., user N interface and data 215. The aforementioned data isunderstood to be that which is stored on the respective smartphones, orother stored personal data over carrier networks or social networks.

There may also be an enterprise data access point 160 connected tosecond data links 700, 720 to access additional system users. Theseinclude a smartphone 300 for a user A, which includes a smartphoneinterface 305 and a smartphone data 310 that is accessed by theinterface via a data interlink 710. Furthermore, by way of example,there may be another smartphone 300 for a user B, which includes asmartphone interface 405 and a smartphone data 410 that is accessed viaa data interlink 730.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes an application server 110that is connected to the incoming data access point, i.e., thesmartphone user data access point and data proxy 105 as well as theenterprise data access point 160. The post data and routing informationrequests may be segregated based at least on configurable routing andstorage instructions. The system may further include a componentdatabase 115 that is utilized by the application server 110 over aninterlink 605. Additionally, there may be a rules-based engine 120, aswell as integrations to APIs from other sources for automatedcategorization, routing, and storage. The rules engine 120 may beconnected to the application server over an interlink 615. Additionally,the application server 110 is connected to the enterprise data accesspoint 160 over an interlink 610, and the smartphone user data accesspoint and data proxy 105 is connected to the application server 100 overan interlink 600.

The block diagram of FIG. 2 depicts the system 100 on a more generalizedlevel. As indicated above, the system 100 stores the aforementionedimages, videos, and other content 1000 that is uploaded from therespective mobile devices and stored thereon for subsequenttransmission. As referenced herein, content 1000 may be the exemplaryimages that are depicted herein, but are not intended to be limited tomultimedia and other like materials. Other data, such as schedulingrequests, call requests, customer service requests, and so forth areintended to be encompassed within the term content. Those skilled in theart will recognize that the specific examples shown and described hereinin connection with images, are also applicable to such other content,and the various features of the present disclosure are adaptablethereto. The mobile devices each execute a mobile application 1100, witha first mobile device running a mobile application 1100 a and a secondmobile device running a mobile application 1100 b.

FIG. 3A shows a user interface 1200 of a mobile application 1100 runningon one of the various mobile devices (e.g. smartphones) that connects tothe system 100. The example of FIG. 3A shows the user interface 1200 atthree consecutive stages during a user's creation of a submissionrequest for sending data from the mobile device to another mobile devicevia the system 100. The user's (i.e. the sender's) experience may beginat a contacts screen 1201 of the user interface 1200 as shown in theleft-most screenshot of FIG. 3A. The contacts screen 1201 shows a listof the sender's contacts (e.g. in alphabetical order), which may, forexample, be imported from an address book of the mobile device. Eachitem 1210 of the list of contacts may include a name 1212 of thecontact, a thumbnail image or avatar 1214 representing the contact, aphone button 1216 for initiating a phone call with the contact, and aflash button 1218 for creating a submission request. The flash button1218 may only be available for contacts who have the mobile application1100 installed on their phone and are thus registered with the providerof the mobile application 1100. In the case of contacts who do not havethe mobile application 1100 (e.g. “Alex Fer” and “Cristo”), the flashbutton 1218 may be replaced by an “Invite” button by which the user ofthe user interface 1200 may autogenerate an invitation message (e.g.text message, email, etc.) addressed to the contact with a link todownload the mobile application 1100. As shown, in the case of somecontacts who have the mobile application 1100 (e.g. “Ana Smith” and“Bean Jessi . . . ”), the flash button 1218 may be replaced by athumbnail image of the most recent image sent to that contact using themobile application 1100. The contacts screen 1201 may include tabs (e.g.“ALL,” “FLASH,” “FAVORITES”) for filtering the list of contacts, forexample, to show all contacts, only those contacts who have the mobileapplication 1100, and user-designated contacts, respectively.Functionality for searching the list of contacts (e.g. magnifying glassicon) and navigating to a camera application (e.g. camera icon) may alsobe included on the contacts screen 1201, as well as navigation tools fornavigating from the contacts screen 1201 to other screens of the mobileapplication 1100 (e.g. “Contacts,” “Groups,” “Photos”).

When the sender taps the flash button 1218 (or thumbnail image of mostrecent image replacing the flash button 1218) associated with a contactto whom the sender would like to send an image, the user interface 1200may navigate to an image selection screen 1202 as shown in the centerscreenshot of FIG. 3A. Here, the sender may select an image 1220 from aset of available images 1220 stored locally on the mobile device. Theset of images 1220 may, for example, be imported from a photo library onthe mobile device and may be displayed as a grid of thumbnail images1220, as shown. As the sender taps each image 1220, the image 1220 maybe marked (e.g. with a colored border) to show that it is the currentlyselected image 1220. A large view 1220 a of the currently selected image1220 may be displayed, as shown. When the sender is satisfied with theselected image 1220, the sender may tap the hidden flash button 1230 toproceed with creating the submission request.

In response to the sender's tapping of the hidden flash button 1230, theuser interface 1200 may navigate to a time period selection screen 1203(e.g. a popup window) as shown in the right-most screenshot of FIG. 3A.The time period selection screen 1203 may include a selection tool 1240(e.g. radio buttons, input field, etc.) for allowing the sender toselect a period of time for the selected image 1220 to be available forviewing by the recipient. When the sender is satisfied with the selectedperiod of time (e.g. “1 min”), the submission request can be confirmedby tapping the “Yes” button or cancelled by tapping the “Cancel” button.Once confirmed, the completed submission request may be transmitted tothe system 100 (e.g. over the Internet). The completed submissionrequest may include the selected image 1220 (e.g. an image file)together with associated submission data indicative of the selectedrecipient (i.e. the contact whose flash button 1218 was used to initiatethe submission request) and the selected period of time. As described inmore detail below, the system 100 will then make the selected image 1220available for viewing by the recipient for the selected period of time,beginning from the time that the submission request was generated.

FIG. 3B shows the user interface 1200 of the mobile application 1100running on one of the various mobile devices that connects to the system100. The example of FIG. 3B continues the sequence of screenshots begunin FIG. 3A with two further consecutive stages of the user interface1200 immediately following the user's creation of the submissionrequest. In response to the user's confirmation of the time period andcompletion of the submission request as shown in the right-mostscreenshot of FIG. 3A, the user interface 1200 may navigate to aconfirmation screen 1204 (e.g. a popup window) indicating that thesubmission request was completed successfully. For example, theconfirmation screen 1204 may confirm that the submission request wassuccessfully uploaded to the system 100 (e.g. to the application server101) and may wait for the user's recognition of the confirmation, forexample, by tapping an OK button 1250 on the confirmation screen 1204.Thereafter, the user may be returned to the contacts screen 1201 of theuser interface 1200. As shown in the right-most screenshot of FIG. 3B(in comparison with the left-most screenshot of FIG. 3A), the contactsscreen 1201 may be updated to replace the flash button 1218 associatedwith the recipient of the recent submission request (“Burnet Criti . . .”) with a thumbnail image 1218 a of the image of the submission request.In this way, the thumbnail image 1218 a may indicate the most recentimage that was sent to that contact using the mobile application 1100.

FIG. 4A shows three consecutive screenshots of another one of thevarious mobile devices that connects to the system 100, which in thisexample, is the mobile device of the recipient of the submissionrequest. The example of FIG. 4A shows the mobile device at threeconsecutive stages during a user's receipt of a push notification 1310regarding the sender's submission request of FIGS. 3A and 3B. The user's(i.e. the recipient's) experience may begin at a lock screen 1301 of themobile device as shown in the left-most screenshot of FIG. 4A or otherscreen (e.g. notification center) where push notifications 1310 aredisplayed. Alternatively, the experience may begin as a popup overlayingany screen of the mobile device (e.g. the user may be in the middle ofusing an unrelated application). As shown, a push notification 1310corresponding to the sender's submission request is displayed. The pushnotification 1310 may include the name (“Flash”) and icon of the mobileapplication 1100, the time of day that the push notification 1310 wasreceived (“Now”), and the content of the push notification 1310 (“AnaSmith Flashed a hidden image for 30 min . . . ”). Because the recipientcan see that the push notification 1310 was received “Now” (e.g. withinthe last minute), the recipient may know that about 30 minutes remain toview the hidden image that Ana Smith has sent. If the time that the pushnotification 1310 was received was about 5 minutes ago, the recipientmay know, for example, that about 25 minutes remain to view the hiddenimage. If the recipient would like to open the mobile application 1100and view the image, the recipient may swipe or otherwise interact withthe push notification 1310 according to the ordinary procedure forunlocking and navigating to an application on the mobile deviceaccording to the mobile device's operating system. It is contemplatedthat the content of the push notification 1310 may depend on the amountof time remaining to view the hidden image. For example, when a certainamount of time or percent of the set time period remains to view theimage (e.g. 5 minutes, 10%, etc.), an additional push notification 1310may be sent saying, for example, “See the hidden Flashed image beforeit's gone.” When the time period has expired, another push notification1310 may be sent saying, for example, “The hidden image John Flashedexpired without being viewed.”

In response to the recipient's interacting with the push notification1310, the mobile device may display an authentication prompt 1320prompting the recipient to use a fingerprint sensor of the mobile devicefor authentication, followed by an authentication success notification1330 after a successful authentication using the fingerprint sensor. Incase the recipient prefers to authenticate by password, a “Use Password”button may be provided. A “Cancel” button may also be provided if therecipient no longer wishes to open the mobile application 1100 and wouldrather return to the lock screen 1301.

FIG. 4B shows two further consecutive screenshots of the mobile deviceof the recipient of the submission request. The left-most screenshot ofFIG. 4B is an example of a password prompt 1340 and password entry tool1350 by which the recipient may enter a password for authenticationfollowing tapping of the “Use Password” button shown in FIG. 4A. Afterauthentication of the recipient, either by fingerprint authentication orpassword authentication, the mobile application 1100 may launch directlyto a screen for viewing the image referred to in the push notification1310, i.e. the “flashed” image that is available for a limited time forthe recipient's viewing. An example of this is shown in the right-mostscreenshot of FIG. 4B, where the mobile application 1100 has now beenlaunched on the recipient's mobile device directly from the pushnotification 1310. The example shown in the right-most screen shot ofFIG. 4B shows an image viewing screen 1205 of the user interface 1200,including a view 1260 of the flashed image and a timer 1270 showingremaining time for viewing the flashed image. When the timer 1270expires, the mobile application 1100 may automatically navigate toanother screen of the user interface 1200 (e.g. the contacts screen 1201of FIG. 3A). Alternatively, the image viewing screen 1205 may still bedisplayed but with the view 1260 of the flashed image removed so that itcan no longer be viewed by the recipient. Along the same lines, whilethe flashed image is available for viewing, the mobile application 1100can make the image un-savable and screen-shot proof. For example, themobile application 1100 may inhibit the save or screenshot function ofthe mobile device's operating system or may display the image in a waythat distorts still captures (e.g. by temporal dithering). It is alsocontemplated that the sender of the flashed image can be notifiedregarding the recipient's viewing, saving, or screenshotting the image.For example, the system 100 may send a push notification to the sendersaying, for example, “John has seen the hidden image you Flashed” or“Ana Smith has screenshotted a photo you Flashed.”

FIG. 5 shows an alternative sequence of screenshots by which therecipient of the submission request may view the flashed image. Insteadof launching the mobile application 1100 from a push notification 1310,the recipient may manually launch the mobile application 1100 (e.g. bytapping on an icon for the mobile application 1100 on a home screen ofthe mobile device). From within the mobile application 1100, therecipient may begin at a contacts screen 1201 of the user interface 1200as shown in the first (upper-left) screenshot of FIG. 5, which may bethe same as the contacts screen 1201 of FIG. 3A. By tapping a historybutton 1213 associated with a particular contact (“Bean Jessi . . . ”)listed as an item 1210 of the list of contacts, the user may navigate toa history screen 1206 of the user interface 1200 as shown in the second(upper-right) screenshot of FIG. 5. The history screen 1206 may beassociated with the particular contact whose history button 1213 wastapped and may include one or more grids of thumbnail images 1280 thatthe user (i.e. the recipient in this case) has sent to or received fromthat contact using the mobile application 1100. For example, a grid ofthumbnail images 1280 that the user has sent to that contact may bedisplayed when a “You Flashed” tab is selected, while a separate grid ofthumbnail images 1280 (not shown) that the user has received from thatcontact may be displayed when a “They Flashed” tab is selected.

It should be noted that the mobile application 1100 may support twodifferent kinds of image sharing, regular flashed images and hiddenflashed images. Referring back to FIG. 3A, the image selection screen1202 of the user interface 1200 may include, in addition to the hiddenflash button 1230, a regular flash button 1232 that allows the sender tosend a selected image 1220 without a time period for viewing. Referringagain to FIG. 5, the grids of thumbnail images 1280 displayed under the“You Flashed” and “They Flashed” tabs of the history screen 1206 mayrepresent images sent as regular flashed images (e.g. using the regularflash button 1232). Thus, these thumbnail images 1280 may remainavailable for viewing indefinitely and may be displayed without anytimer 1270, but with time and date information indicating when theimages were sent.

Wishing to view hidden flashed images, the user (i.e. recipient in thiscase) may tap a hidden flash history button 1290 to navigate to a hiddenflash history screen 1207 of the user interface 1200 as shown in thethird or fifth screenshot (first or third screenshot of bottom row) ofFIG. 5. Just like the history screen 1206, the hidden flash historyscreen 1207 may be associated with the particular contact whose historybutton 1213 was tapped. When a “You Hidden Flashed” tab is selected asshown in the third screenshot of FIG. 5, the hidden flash history screen1207 may display a grid of thumbnail images 1282 that the user (i.e. therecipient in this case) has sent to the associated contact using thehidden flash functionality of the mobile application 1100 (e.g. usingthe hidden flash button 1230 shown in FIG. 3A). When a “They HiddenFlashed” tab is selected as shown in the fifth screenshot of FIG. 5, thehidden flash history screen 1207 may display a grid of thumbnail images1284 that the user has received as hidden flashed images from thatcontact using the hidden flash functionality of the mobile application1100. As shown, each thumbnail image 1284 under the “They HiddenFlashed” tab may include a timer 1270 showing how much time remains toview the image before its time period for viewing expires. In contrast,each thumbnail image 1282 under the “You Hidden Flashed” tab may remainon the hidden flash history screen 1207 and be accessible for viewingindefinitely without expiring (though it is contemplated that such senthidden images may also expire, depending on user preferences).

As shown in the sixth (bottom-right) screenshot of FIG. 5, tapping thethumbnail image 1284 under the “They Hidden Flashed” tab of the hiddenflash history screen 1207 may navigate the user interface 1200 to thesame image viewing screen 1205 as shown in FIG. 4B, including a view1260 of the flashed image and a timer 1270 showing remaining time forviewing the flashed image. When the timer 1270 expires, the userinterface 1200 may automatically navigate to another screen (e.g. thehidden flash history screen 1207). Alternatively, the image viewingscreen may still be displayed but with the view 1260 of the flashedimage removed. Similarly, as shown in the fourth screenshot of FIG. 5(second screenshot of the bottom row), tapping the thumbnail image 1282under the “You Hidden Flashed” tab of the hidden flash history screen1207 may navigate the user interface 1200 to a similar image viewingscreen 1205 for viewing the full-size image represented by the thumbnail1282.

It is contemplated that the mobile application 1100 may be configured torequire user authentication when a user attempts to access the hiddenflash history screen 1207 by tapping the hidden flash history button1290. Thus, when the user taps the hidden flash history button 1290, themobile device may display an authentication prompt 1320 andauthentication success notification 1330 as shown in FIG. 4A and/or apassword prompt 1340 and password entry tool 1350 as shown in FIG. 4B.After authentication of the user, either by fingerprint authenticationor password authentication, the mobile application 1100 may proceed fromthe history screen 1206 to the hidden flash history screen 1207 as shownin FIG. 5.

The mobile application 1100 may additionally support secure videosharing with time limitations that are enforced through the system 100.FIG. 6 shows a user interface 1600 of the mobile application 1100 aspresented to sending/originating mobile device. As indicated above, themobile device connects to the system 100 for performing the varioussteps contemplated herein, with each of the examples shown depicting thefive consecutive stages during the selection, creation, and transmissionof video content from the mobile device to another mobile device via thesystem 100.

The first user interface display, that is, the leftmost screen shot, iscontemplated to be a contacts screen 1601, which is understood to besimilar to or the same as the contacts screen 1201 described above inFIGS. 3A and 3B. In this regard, the contacts screen 1601 presents alisting of the contacts 1610 stored on the mobile device and associatedwith the user.

The contacts screen 1601 includes a selection interface 1612 thatnarrows the listing of contacts 1601 that fit the selection. Forexample, there is a “Contacts” tab 1612 a, the selection of which listsall of the contacts 1601 associated with the user, along with a“Flashers” tab 1612 b, the selection which lists known users of themobile application 1100 among all contacts 1601 associated with theuser. Further, there is a “Favorites” tab 1612 c that shows only alisting of the contacts 1611 designated by the user as being a“favorite.” In the illustrated example, the “Favorites” tab 1612 isselected, as indicated by the reversed background/text color. Withinthis example listing, there are three contacts 1601 shown, including afirst contact 1611 a identified as “Iphone 8,” a second contact 1611 bidentified as Lance droid,” and a third contact 1611 c identified as“Test Droid.” Functionality for searching the list of contacts may beinvoked by selecting a magnifying glass icon 1693. From the contactscreen 1601 as shown in FIG. 6, other functionality of the mobileapplication 110 may be activated, including a “photos” and “activities.”

Each of the contacts 1601 may include a respective thumbnail image oravatar 1614 representing contact, along with a phone button 1616 forinitiating a phone call with the contact, and a text message button 1617for initiating a text message to the contact. As indicated above, thethumbnail image or avatar 1614 may be that of the most recent image thatwas sent to that contact using the mobile application 1100.

From the contacts screen 1601, the user may select a camera icon 1694 tonavigate to a video recording interface 1602. A continuous video displayas captured by a camera onboard the mobile device is rendered within adisplay area 1621, which occupies a substantial portion of the availablescreen real estate. The video display may be stored to an onboard memoryfollowing a shutter button 1622 being activated. The current timestampof the video is shown overlaid within the display area 1621, andopposite to this an indication that a video is being recorded is shown.Furthermore, to the extent the mobile device includes both afront-facing camera and a rear-facing camera, switching between thesetwo sources is possible with a camera selection button 1622. Along theselines, if the mobile device additionally includes a supplemental light(flash), then a camera flash button 1623 may be activated to turn it on.If the user desires to cancel and discard the recording, or return tothe contacts screen 1601, a close button 1624 may be activated. Inaccordance with one default setting, the duration of the video that canbe recorded is six (6) seconds, though this is by way of example onlyand not of limitation. Any other desirable duration may be set.

Once the video has been recorded, the user interface 1600 transitions toa preview interface 1603. The recorded video is played back within thedisplay area 1621, and if the user is satisfied with the content, it maybe sent to a recipient in a manner similar to that of images asdescribed above. Specifically, overlaid on the preview interface 1603 isa transmit button 1625, which may be activated to invoke the next screenof the user interface 1600, that is, the contact selection interface1604 that is the same presentation as the contact interface 1601. Thecontact selection interface 1604 includes the selection interface 1612that narrows the listing of the contacts 1601 that fit the selection.Again, in the illustrated example, the “Favorites” tab 1612 is selected,as indicated by the reversed background/text color thereof. Within thisexample listing, there are three contacts 1611 shown, including first,second and third contacts 1611 a-1611 c.

In addition to the listing of the contacts, the contact selectioninterface 1604 includes an option to select a “hidden transmission” thatlimits the distribution as well as availability of the recorded video.This limitation is understood to be enforced by the system 100. Toactivate this feature, a button 1627 may be activated, which invokes anoverlay 1622 as shown in the duration selection interface 1605. Agraphical user element 1623 which accepts predefined increments of timecorresponding to the duration of availability is rendered within theoverlay 1622, as well as a set button 1624 that results in aninstruction being to the system 100 of the limited availability of thevideo in conjunction with the upload of the video. Alternatively, thevideo may be uploaded to the system 100 upon completion of the recordingto minimize delays.

Upon the video reaching the system 100, the receiving user, that is, themobile device of such user, is notified that this video is available forviewing. FIG. 7 is shows a user interface 1700 of the mobile application1100 running one of the mobile devices that connects to the system 100and is the designated recipient that was selected by the transmittinguser as shown in FIG. 6. The basic interface 1701 depicts a typical mainicon screen of the mobile device, from which various applications may beinvoked. Upon receipt of the notification from the system 100, themobile device 100 may generate an alert banner 1710 with informationspecific to the mobile application 1100, along with a description of thenotification. In the illustrated example, the fact that the hidden videowas transmitted to the user, along with the duration of availability ofthe video is indicated in the alert, though the contents of thisnotification may be varied as desired. It is understood that the alertbanner 1710 may be generated in other contexts, such as while anotherapplication is being executed in the foreground. Furthermore, othertypes of notifications besides the depicted banner type are known andmay be substituted, or used in conjunction with the banner typenotification. These include badge notifications that indicate the numberof alerts that are associated with a given application, and so forth.

Depending on the specifics of the alert, the mobile application 1100that generates the alert may be invoked in various ways. The mobileapplication interface 1702 is one possibility to which executiondefaults. As shown, there is a listing of various alerts 1712 that havebeen generated by the mobile application 1100, including an alert 1712 athat is specific to the one generated in response to the hidden videofrom the sending mobile device 100. Selecting the alert 1712 a invokes apassword entry interface 1703. According to one embodiment, the passwordrequired for unlocking is that which is set for the mobile device 100itself. Typically, the device unlock code is a four digit numerical codethat may be entered via a numerical keypad 1714. However, it is alsopossible for the password to be specific to the mobile application 1100as associated with the user on the system 100, or a password that isprovided over an alternative channel by the transmitting user.Alternative verification modalities such as facial recognition,fingerprint recognition and the like may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Upon providing theunlock password, the mobile application 1100 transitions to a videoviewing interface 1704, which renders the transmitted video within thedisplay area 1721. Like the display area 1621, a timestamp of thecurrent play location may be shown. Upon completion of viewing, the usermay invoke a back button 1725 to return to the mobile applicationinterface 1702.

FIG. 8A shows an example operational flow according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure in relation to the system 100 shown in FIGS. 1and 2 and the sequences of screenshots shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B,and 5. The operational flow of FIG. 8A may begin within the sender'smobile device, where the user selects a recipient and image (step 1) asdescribed in relation to the contacts screen 1201 and image selectionscreen 1202 of the user interface 1200 as shown in FIG. 3A. Therecipient may be selected, for example, by tapping the flash button 1218of the list item 1210 associated with the contact who is the desiredrecipient, while the image may be selected by tapping the image 1220followed by the hidden flash button 1230. After selecting the recipientand image (though any order of selecting the recipient, image, and timeperiod is contemplated), the operational flow may continue with theuser's setting a time period (step 2) as described in relation to thetime period selection screen 1203 of the user interface 1200 as shown inFIG. 3A. The time period may be selected, for example, using radiobuttons or other selection tool 1240. When the user is satisfied withthe selected recipient, image, and time period, the user may confirm thesubmission request (e.g. by tapping “Yes” on the time period selectionscreen 1203), initiating the submission of a hidden flashed image (step3). The completed submission request, including the image and associatedsubmission data indicative of the recipient and time period, is thenuploaded to the system 100 (step 4), for example, using an API such as astandard server interface that supports data transfer over the Internet(e.g. JavaScript Object Notation or JSON).

The operational flow of FIG. 8A continues with the receipt, by thesystem 100, of the submission request. Upon receipt of the submissionrequest, the system 100 may update the user interface 1200 associatedwith the recipient indicated by the submission request to make the imageof the submission request available for display for the period of timedesignated by the submission request. The system 100 may, for example,update server-side data to be interpreted by the mobile application 1100installed on the recipient's mobile device. The system 100 may then senda push notification 1310 to the recipient's mobile device (step 5), thepush notification 1310 indicating that the image is available fordisplay for the period of time designated by the submission request. Therecipient's mobile device may then display the push notification 1310(step 6) on a lock screen 1301 as shown in FIG. 4A or other screen (e.g.notification center) where push notifications 1310 are displayed, or asa popup overlaying any screen of the mobile device. If time remainsbefore the image expires, the recipient may view the image by launchingthe mobile application 1100 directly from the push notification 1310 orby navigating to the image from within the mobile application 1100 asdescribed in relation to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 5.

FIG. 8B shows another example operational flow according to anembodiment of the present disclosure in relation to the system 100 shownin FIGS. 1 and 2 and the sequences of screenshots shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B,4A, 4B, and 5. The operational flow of FIG. 8B may occur within therecipient's mobile device when the recipient wishes to view the imagesent by the sender in FIG. 8A (i.e. the hidden flashed image indicatedin the push notification 1310). The operational flow of FIG. 8B maybegin (step 1) either with the recipient's interaction with the pushnotification 1310 as shown in FIG. 4A (Case 1) or with the recipient'sinteraction with the hidden flash history button 1290 as shown in FIG. 5(Case 2). In either case, as described above, authentication of the usermay be required (step 2), for example, by fingerprint using anauthentication prompt 1320 and authentication success notification 1330as shown in FIG. 4A and/or by passcode using a password prompt 1340 andpassword entry tool 1350 as shown in FIG. 4B. Following the successfulauthentication of the recipient of the sent image, the mobile device mayquery the system 100 for the image and associated time period as set inthe sender's submission request (step 3), for example, using an API suchas a standard server interface that supports data transfer over theInternet (e.g. JavaScript Object Notation or JSON). In the case ofaccessing the image directly from the push notification 1310, forexample, the query to the system 100 may include an ID of the pushnotification 1310 that links the push notification 1310 with thesender's submission request. In the case of accessing the image from ahistory screen 1206 of the mobile application 1200 using the hiddenflash history button 1290, the query to the system 100 may locate anysubmission requests that were uploaded by the user whose history screen1206 is being viewed and whose submission data indicates the recipient.Having located the correct submission request, the mobile application1100 may then display the image to the recipient (e.g. on an imageviewing screen 1205 of the user interface 1200), along with a timer 1270showing the remaining viewing time, provided the viewing time has notalready expired (step 4).

FIG. 9 shows a user interface 1400 of the mobile application 1100running on sender and recipient mobile devices connected to the system100 in three consecutive stages. In the example of FIG. 9, for purposesof illustration, the sender is a customer of some business,municipality, or other service provider. The recipient is the serviceprovider. The left-most screenshot represents the sender's (i.e.customer's) experience in creating a submission request for sending datato the recipient (i.e. service provider). The sender's experience withthe user interface 1400 may be the same as the sender's experience withthe user interface 1200 described in relation to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 6A,except as described below.

The left-most screenshot of FIG. 9 depicts an image selection screen1402 that is the same as the image selection screen 1202 of the userinterface 1200 shown in FIG. 3A except that the hidden flash button 1230is omitted. (It is noted that the hidden flash button 1230 need not beomitted, and that the functionality of the user interfaces 1200 and 1400may be combined into a single user interface.) Here, as in FIG. 3A, thesender may select an image 1420 from a set of available images 1420stored locally on the mobile device. The set of images 1420 may, forexample, be imported from a photo library on the mobile device and maybe displayed as a grid of thumbnail images 1420 as shown. As the sendertaps each image 1420, the image 1420 may be marked (e.g. with a coloredborder) to show that it is the currently selected image 1420. A largeview 1420 a of the currently selected image 1420 may be displayed asshown.

In the example of FIG. 9, the sender has written the words “DON'T CROSSTHE LINE” on the selected image 1420. Such editing of the selected image1420 may be done using editing tools (e.g. pencil, paintbrush, textbox,graphics, etc.) that may be revealed by tapping the edit button 1434.(As shown in FIG. 3A, an identical edit button 1434 may be available onthe image selection screen 1202 of the user interface 1200.) In thecontext of a customer sending an image to a service provider asdescribed in relation to FIG. 9, the edit button 1434 may allow thesender to provide some explanation or context when sending an image tothe service provider. For example, in the case of FIG. 9, the customerhas taken a picture of a misplaced traffic barrier that is positionedtoo far over the yellow center line of a road. The customer has selectedthe image 1420 to send to the appropriate traffic authority and hasedited the image using the edit button 1434 to explain the customer'scomplaint that the traffic barrier has impermissibly crossed the line.

When the sender is satisfied with the selected image 1420 and anyediting of the selected image 1420, the sender may tap the flash button1432 to proceed with creating the submission request. At this point, theuser may be prompted to select various options related to the submissionrequest, such as whether any time period for viewing the image should beassociated with the image (e.g. using the time period selection screen1203 of FIG. 3A, though this functionality may in some cases be limitedto hidden flashed images as described above). For purposes of theexample of FIG. 9, it is assumed that the sender has opted to include acall request with the image, which may be designated after tapping theflash button 1432 or may be designated by the sender in a settings menuto include a call request generally for all submission requests. Thecompleted submission request may be transmitted to the system 100 andmay include the selected image 1420 (e.g. an image file) together withassociated submission data indicative of the selected recipient (e.g.the contact whose flash button 1218 was used to initiate the submissionrequest as shown in FIG. 3A) and the designation to include a callrequest. As described in more detail below, the system 100 will thenmake the selected image 1420 available for viewing by the recipient, whowill then be able to call back the sender with the touch of a button.

The center and right-most screenshots in FIG. 9 show the recipient's(service provider's) mobile device during the recipient's receipt of apush notification 1310 regarding the sender's (customer's) submissionrequest. The recipient's experience may begin at a lock screen 1301 ofthe mobile device as shown in the left-most screenshot of FIG. 4A orother screen (e.g. notification center) where push notifications 1310are displayed, or as a popup overlaying any screen of the mobile device.In the example of the center screenshot of FIG. 9, the recipient iscurrently viewing a contacts screen 1401 (with the “Favorites” tabselected), which may be the same as the contacts screen 1201 of FIG. 3A,when a push notification 1310 corresponding to the sender's submissionrequest appears as a popup. Like the push notification 1310 shown inFIG. 4A, the push notification 1310 of FIG. 9 may include the name(“Flash”) and icon of the mobile application 1100, the time of day thatthe push notification 1310 was received (“Now”), and the content of thepush notification 1310 (“from Iphone 8”). If the recipient would like tonavigate directly to the image (including launching the mobileapplication 1100 if necessary), the recipient may swipe, tap, orotherwise interact with the push notification 1310 using the ordinaryprocedure for navigating to an application on the mobile device via apush notification according to the mobile device's operating system.

In response to the recipient's interacting with the push notification1310, the user interface 1400 of the mobile application 1100 maynavigate directly to a screen for viewing the image referred to in thepush notification 1310, i.e. the selected image 1420 sent by thecustomer named “Iphone 8” in the recipient's contact list (also referredto as the “flashed” image). An example of this is shown in theright-most screenshot of FIG. 9, where an image viewing screen 1405 ofthe user interface 1400 is shown, including a view 1460 of the flashedimage along with any writing and drawing created by the sender using theedit button 1434. Since the flashed image is a regular flashed image inthis case, not a hidden flashed image as shown in the image viewingscreen 1205 of FIG. 4B, the timer 1270 may be omitted and the flashedimage may be available indefinitely. Along the same lines, savingfunctionality (disk button) and/or favorite functionality (star button)may be provided here to allow the recipient to find and view the imageat a later time. Such functionality may be disabled in the case of ahidden flashed image. Together with the flashed image, the image viewingscreen 1405 also includes a call button 1462 as specified by thesender's submission request. The recipient (business enterprise) cansimply tap the call button 1462 to instantly initiate a phone call withthe mobile device of the sender of the flashed image. Instead of callingthe mobile device of the sender of the flashed image, it is possible tosend a message. In this regard, the image viewing screen 1405 includes amessage button 1463 as specified by the sender's submission request. Themessage may be e-mail, an SMS text message, or any other suitablecommunication. Thus it will be appreciated that such phone calls andmessages may be generally referred to as a communications interactionthat may be initiated.

As shown on the contacts screen 1401, the list item 1410 associated withthe contact who sent the submission package (i.e. the customer) has beenupdated to change the contact's avatar 1414 to the flashed image(including sender's edits). This may allow the recipient (i.e. serviceprovider) to easily associate contacts and call numbers with currentcustomer issues/requests. For example, by simply glancing at the listitem 1410 associated with the contact name “Iphone 8,” it can beimmediately understood that this contact was the person who pointed outthe problem involving the traffic barrier.

FIG. 10A shows an example operational flow according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure in relation to the system 100 shown in FIGS. 1and 2 and the sequence of screenshots shown in FIG. 9. The operationalflow of FIG. 10A may begin within the sender's (customer's) mobiledevice, where the sender selects a recipient and image (step 1) asdescribed in relation to the image selection screen 1402 of the userinterface 1400 as shown in FIG. 9. As noted above, selecting a recipientmay be the same as described in relation to the contacts screen 1201 ofFIG. 3A (e.g. tapping the flash button 1218 of the list item 1210associated with the contact who is the desired recipient). The image maybe selected, for example, by tapping the image 1420 followed by theflash button 1432. After selecting the recipient and image, theoperational flow may continue with the submission of a flashed imagewith call request (step 2), though the call request itself may be adefault setting for that user. The completed submission request,including the image and associated submission data indicative of therecipient, is then uploaded to the system 100 (step 3), for example,using an API such as a standard server interface that supports datatransfer over the Internet (e.g. JavaScript Object Notation or JSON).

The operational flow of FIG. 10A continues with the receipt, by thesystem 100, of the submission request. Upon receipt of the submissionrequest, the system 100 may update the user interface 1400 associatedwith the recipient (i.e. service provider) indicated by the submissionrequest to make the image of the submission request available fordisplay. The system 100 may, for example, update server-side data to beinterpreted by the mobile application 1100 installed on the recipient'smobile device. The system 100 may then send a push notification 1310 tothe recipient's mobile device (step 4), the push notification 1310indicating that the image is available for display. The recipient'smobile device may then display the push notification 1310 (step 5) as apopup as shown in FIG. 9 (or on a lock screen 1301 as shown in FIG. 4Aor other screen where push notifications 1310 are displayed). Asdescribed above, the recipient's mobile device may also update theavatar 1414 of the sender (i.e. customer) in the mobile device's nativecontacts list and/or in the contacts list of the contacts screen 1401 ofthe mobile application 1100 (which may be an import of the device'snative contacts list as described above). The recipient may view theimage by launching the mobile application 1100 directly from the pushnotification 1310 or by navigating to the image from within the mobileapplication 1100 as described in relation to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 5.

FIG. 8B shows another example operational flow according to anembodiment of the present disclosure in relation to the system 100 shownin FIGS. 1 and 2 and the sequences of screenshots shown in FIG. 9. Theoperational flow of FIG. 8B may occur within the recipient's (i.e.service provider's) mobile device when the recipient wishes to view theimage sent by the sender (i.e. customer) in FIG. 10A (i.e. the flashedimage indicated in the push notification 1310). The operational flow ofFIG. 8B may begin (step 1) either with the recipient's interaction withthe push notification 1310 (Case 1) or with the recipient's interactionwith the history button 1413 (Case 2) shown in FIG. 9 (and as describedin relation to FIG. 5). In either case, optionally following thesuccessful authentication of the recipient, the mobile device may querythe system 100 for the image and any associated time period as may havebeen set in the sender's submission request (step 3), for example, usingan API such as a standard server interface that supports data transferover the Internet (e.g. JavaScript Object Notation or JSON). In the caseof accessing the image directly from the push notification 1310, forexample, the query to the system 100 may include an ID of the pushnotification 1310 that links the push notification 1310 with thesender's submission request. In the case of accessing the image using ahistory button 1413 of the mobile application 1400, the query to thesystem 100 may locate any submission requests that were uploaded by theuser whose history button 1413 was interacted with and whose submissiondata indicates the recipient. Having located the correct submissionrequest, the mobile application 1100 may then display the image to therecipient (e.g. on an image viewing screen 1405 of the user interface1400), along with the call button 1462 or message button 1463 (step 4).The call button 1462 or message button 1463 may be embedded in theimage.

FIG. 11A shows another example operational flow according to anembodiment of the present disclosure in relation to the system 100 shownin FIGS. 1 and 2 and the sequence of screenshots shown in FIG. 9. Theoperational flow of FIG. 11A may begin within the recipient's (i.e.service provider's) mobile device immediately following the operationalflow of FIG. 10B. While viewing the flashed image on the image viewingscreen 1405 of the user interface 1400, the recipient may tap the callbutton 1462 to initiate a phone call with the mobile device of thesender directly from within the mobile application 1100 (step 1). Theoperational flow may continue with the sender's (i.e. customer's) mobiledevice receiving the phone call initiated by the recipient (i.e. serviceprovider) along with a full screen view of the image that was part ofthe sender's (i.e. customer's) submission request (step 2), e.g. theimage of the misplaced traffic barrier. For example, in the case of amobile device using an iOS® operating system, the sender'screation/upload of the submission request (e.g. step 2 of FIG. 10A) maycause the mobile application 1100 to update the sender's native contactsettings to replace the avatar of the recipient with the image of thesubmission request. Then, when the sender's mobile device receives theincoming call from the recipient in step 2 of FIG. 11A, the mobiledevice will display the image together with the incoming call.

In the case of a mobile device using an Android® operating system, theoperational flow of FIG. 11B may be used. In this case, after therecipient (i.e. service provider) taps the call button 1462 to initiatea phone call with the mobile device of the sender (step 1), the mobileapplication 1100 in the sender's (i.e. customer's) mobile device mayrecognize the incoming call phone number as being the phone number ofthe recipient associated with a flashed image (step 2). The mobileapplication 1100 may then retrieve the locally stored copy of theflashed image associated with that phone number (step 3) and display apopup of the image while the phone call is incoming, i.e. before thesender (i.e. customer) answers the phone (step 4). The popup may be setto automatically close after a period of time (e.g. five seconds) and/orin response to user interaction with a “close” button.

By displaying the sender's own flashed image on the sender's mobiledevice when the recipient calls back the sender, the sender canimmediately be reminded of what the call is concerning. For example, thesender may see the image shown in FIG. 9 and recognize that the callpertains to the misplaced traffic barrier.

In the above description of FIGS. 7, 8A, 8B, 9A, and 9B, an example isprovided in which the sender of the flashed image is a customer and therecipient of the flashed image is a service provider. In this context,the customer may easily point out something to the service provider(e.g. the misplaced traffic barrier described above, a broken or missingpart of a home/auto system or appliance, etc.). However, the disclosureis not limited to these particular roles of the sender and recipient.For example, it is also contemplated that the sender of the flashedimage may be the service provider and the recipient may be the customer.For example, a service provider with which the customer has an upcomingappointment (e.g. a dentist, an auto shop, etc.) may use the mobileapplication 1100 to send an appointment reminder to the customer,replacing conventional SMS notifications with visual notificationsincluding a picture and data. The view 1460 of the flashed image may bean image of the appointment reminder itself (e.g. an image of a calendarwith a marked appointment) or an image related to the subject of theappointment (e.g. the customer's car) with overlaid text detailing theappointment reminder. In addition to the call button 1462, which may beused by the customer to call the service provider to reschedule theappointment, additional buttons may be provided to confirm or cancel theappointment. For example, the recipient may be given options to tap onleft to confirm, tap on right to cancel, or tap the call button 1462 tocall and reschedule. It is also contemplated that the timer 1270described above in relation to FIGS. 3A-6B can be used in thecustomer/service provider setting, with the timer 1270 applying to animage or other media sent in either direction. For example, a financialinstitution (e.g. a bank) or other service provider enterprise may usethe mobile application 1100 to send secure, time sensitive messages to acustomer or simultaneously to several of their customers. Likewise, acustomer can send a secure, time sensitive message to the serviceprovider enterprise, such as a temporary authorization that expiresaccording to the timer 1270.

Referring back to the diagram of FIG. 2, although the foregoingembodiments contemplate an implementation with the mobile application1100 running on each of the mobile devices (e.g., smartphones)connecting to the system 100, another embodiment of the presentdisclosure contemplates an implementation with a native call controller1110 of the mobile device. As referenced herein, the native callcontroller 1110 is understood to be a software component of the mobiledevice operating system that initiates the placement of outgoing callsand acceptance of incoming telephone calls, text messages, andvideoconferences. There may be sub-interfaces or panels for inputtingthe numeric digits of telephone numbers, contact lists, recently placedand received calls, favorite contacts, voicemail, and so forth. Once acall is in progress, the native call controller 1110 may also includefeatures for muting the audio, inputting numeric digits (in the form oftouch-tone/DTMF signals), audio output and input sources, addingadditional callers, and so forth. Thus, in the context of theillustrated example, the first mobile device may include a native callcontroller 1110 a and a second mobile device may include a native callcontroller 1110 b.

Referring now to FIG. 12A, the native call controller 1110 may have auser interface 1500, with the leftmost screen shot thereof depicting auser's (i.e., the sender's) experience of creating a submission requestfor sending data from the mobile device to another mobile device via thesystem 100. Illustrated therein is a contacts screen 1501 showing a listof the sender's contacts (e.g., in alphabetical order). Each item 1510of the list of contacts may include a name 1512, a thumbnail image oravatar 1514 representing the contact, and a flash button 1518. In theillustrated example, selecting the name 1512 and/or the avatar 1514 isunderstood to initiate a phone call with the contact.

Alternatively, selecting the name 1512 and/or the avatar 1514 from thecontacts screen 1501 may invoke a detailed contact screen 1521 as shownin the leftmost screen shot of FIG. 12B. In addition to the name 1522and the avatar 1524 that is the same as in the contacts screen 1501(e.g., the name 1512 and the avatar 1514, respectively), a phone number1527 may be listed, along with a phone button 1526 to initiate the phonecall with the contact, a text message button 1529 to initiate anotherinterface within the mobile operating system to send and receive SMStext messages, and a flash button 1528 for creating a submissionrequest.

Whether invoked through the flash button 1518 on the contacts screen1501 or the flash button 1528 on the detailed contact screen, the userinterface 1500 may navigate to an image selection screen 1502 as shownin the center screenshot of FIGS. 10A and 10B. The sender may select animage 1520 from a set of available images stored locally on the mobiledevice. The set of images 1520 may, for example, be imported from aphoto library on the mobile device and may be displayed as a grid ofthumbnail images, as shown. When the sender taps the desired image 1520,it may be marked (e.g. with a colored border) to show that it is thecurrently selected one, and this action is understood to create thesubmission request that assigns the selected image 1520 for thedesignated contact to receive and/or display in connection with the callthat is initiated thereto by the user. The user interface 1500 navigatesback to the contacts screen 1503 which now has a thumbnail 1529 of thepreviously selected image 1520 that is designated or assigned for thecontact.

FIG. 13 shows the user interface 1500 of the native call controller1110, and the left screen shot shows a contacts screen 1505 with aspecific call recipient being selected. In further detail, when an item1510 is selected in the contacts screen 1505, a call button 1536 ispresented underneath the item 1510, along with a text message button1537 and a details button 1538 that, when invoked, presents the detailedcontact screen 1521 discussed above with reference to FIG. 12B.Activating the call button 1536 then invokes a call initiation screen1507. In a conventional implementation of the native call controller1110, the name of the called contact is displayed, along with a progressindicator, and a buttons to terminate the call or mute the call. Anyother graphical elements may be presented on the call initiation screen1507 in accordance with the implementation of the mobile operatingsystem.

Referring to FIG. 14, on the receiving end, e.g., the correspondingnative call controller 1110 presents in the user interface 1500 a callreceive screen 1509. Displayed as the background of the call receivescreen 1509 is the image 1520 as previously selected by the initiatinguser via the image selection screen 1502. At this juncture, of theincoming phone call, the user has the option of declining or acceptingthe call, as well as sending a text message reply. Again, these optionsmay depend on the specifics of the mobile operating system, so these arepresented by way of example only and not of limitation. Once the call isaccepted, a call progress screen 1511 continues to display the image1520 as selected by the initiating user.

FIG. 15 shows an example operational flow according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure in relation to the system 100 shown in FIGS. 1and 2 and the sequences of screenshots shown in FIGS. 10A, 10B, 11, and12. The operational flow of FIG. 13 may begin within the sender's mobiledevice, where the user selects a recipient and image (step 1) asdescribed in relation to the contacts screen 1501 and the detailedcontact screen 1521 on one hand, and the image selection screen 1502 ofthe user interface 1500 on the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 12A and10B. The recipient may be selected, for example, by tapping the flashbutton 1518 of the list item 1510 associated with the contact who is thedesired recipient, or the flash button 1528 in the detailed contactscreen 1521 for the specific contact. The image may be selected bytapping the image 1520 (step 2). With the recipient and the image beingselected, the submission may be initiated. The completed submissionrequest, including the image and associated submission data indicativeof the recipient is then uploaded to the system 100 (step 4), forexample, using an API such as a standard server interface that supportsdata transfer over the Internet (e.g. JavaScript Object Notation orJSON).

The operational flow of FIG. 15 continues with the receipt, by thesystem 100, of the submission request. Upon receipt of the submissionrequest, the system 100 may update the user interface 1500 associatedwith the recipient indicated by the submission request to make the imageof the submission request. The system 100 may, for example, updateserver-side data, and then send a push notification to the recipient'smobile device (step 5). On the recipient's mobile device, theoperational flow may continue with first checking the setting fordisplaying or hiding a push notification (step 6). The push notificationis hidden (step 7) or shown (step 8) to the extent user settings sodictate either way. The native call controller 1110 retrieves the imagevia an API request (step 9), and the avatar 1514 associated with thesending user may be updated in the mobile device's native contacts list(step 10).

FIG. 16 shows an example data sharing system 2000 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. The data sharing system 2000 maybe an example of the system 100 described in relation to FIG. 1 and mayfunction as a server as depicted in FIGS. 6A, 8A, and 13 to support datasharing between a first computing device 3000 a and a second computingdevice 3000 b (e.g. mobile phones). Referring to the server-sideprocesses described above in relation to FIG. 15 by way of example, arequest processor 2010 of the data sharing system 2000 may receive thesubmission request uploaded in step 4, data of which may be stored in adata storage 2030. For example, a user/request data storage 2032 maystore data indicative of the sender, recipient, and/or requestparameters associated with the request while an content data storage2034 stores the data of the uploaded content in association therewith. Acontent access manager 2020 may then provide the content to the secondcomputing device 3000 b, including any optional push notification asgenerated by the device notifier 2022 and/or period of time for viewingthe image as managed by a timer 2024 and discussed above in relation toFIGS. 6A and 6B.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the operational flow andthe user interface features described above are contemplated to enableone user, e.g., the initiating user, to specifically define his or herpersona or visual appearance to the other users, e.g., the recipient. Asdiscussed above, the initiating user is the one selecting the visualelement of a photograph, animated image, video, etc. and that ispropagated to those receiving users that the initiating user selects.This is understood to represent a departure over conventional contactlist modalities by which the recipient of a phone call, text message, orthe like assigns a photograph to a contact, and when there is anincoming telecommunications request, the recipient-selected image ispresented. Effectively, this places the control of the initiating user'spersona in the hands of the initiating user, relative to one or more ofthe recipient users.

It should be noted that such functionality, as exemplified by FIGS. 10A,10B, 11, and 12 in relation to a user interface 1500 associated with anative call controller 1110, may also be provided in relation to theuser interfaces 1200, 1400 described above in relation to the mobileapplication 1100. For example, referring to the sequence of screenshotsshown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, selection of an image 1220 may be used todefine a sender-selected image associated with a given contact item 1210that will then appear on a recipient's screen when the sender initiatesa phone call, text message, etc. to the recipient.

The embodiments of the present disclosure need not be limited to theexchange of contact data between two mobile devices and is possiblebetween an enterprise and multiple end users/customers thereof. Withreference to the block diagram of FIG. 17, an enterprise administrator3000 may designate an image or other content such as video, audio,combination of video and audio, and so on to be presented to a user whena telephone call or other communications session is initiated from theenterprise to the user. The content may also be an interactive sequencethat may include graphics, audio, as well as instructions and/or datathat can be used to present a user interface element on which input maybe received. The inputs may be returned to the enterprise to signal thepreferred direction of the subsequent communication session such asobtaining additional information, completing a transaction, and so on.

The user device 3010 may be a smartphone or other mobile communicationsdevice that is capable of running various software applications thatextend its functionality. In one embodiment, a software development kit(SDK) interface may be embedded into an enterprise application such asis the case with the user device 3010 a. Alternatively, a consumer userdevice 3010 b may include an application such as that utilized in theother embodiments of the present disclosure described above, e.g., themobile application 1100. It may be possible to integrate the SDKinterface into an existing mobile application with widespread deploymentso that an independent enterprise application is not necessary.

The administrator 3000 interacts with an enterprise data sharingadministration system 3020, which may be on-premises at the enterprise,or may be cloud-based, that is, remote from the enterprise. Theenterprise data sharing administration system 3020 may be configured andoperated via a control panel 3025. Through the control panel 3025, theadministrator 3000 sets the content that is to be provided to the userdevice 3010.

FIG. 18 shows a screenshot of an exemplary interface 3100 of the controlpanel 3025 for the enterprise data sharing administration system 3020.The interface 3100 includes a listing 3102 organized according to rowsand columns, which each row corresponding to a separate record 3104 fora given user. Typically, one user is associated with one telephonenumber, but need not be limited thereto. One user may be associated withmultiple telephone numbers, as shown in the first record 3104 a. Thespecific number is shown in a first column 3106, while the geographicregion with which that user is associated is listed in a second column3108. Like the telephone number field, the user may be associated withmultiple regions, as shown in the second record 3104 b. In a thirdcolumn 3110, an identity of the enterprise that is to be presented tothe particular user when called is listed. For example, when the usercorresponding to the first record 3104 a is called, “Amazing Travel” isindicated in the caller identification. In a fourth column 3112, athumbnail 3114 of an image that is to be presented to the user whencalled is listed.

The interface 3100 includes active elements that invoke furtherfunctionality to edit the records 3104, so for each one, there is aspecific edit record link 3116 in a fifth column 3118 of the listing3102. Similarly, the interface 3100 includes active elements to invokefunctionality to remove the records 3104, so for each one, there is aspecific remove number link 3120 organized in a sixth column 3122 of thelisting 3102. From the interface 3100, it is also possible to add newrecords by invoking such functionality via an add button 3126. Furtherdetails on these functionalities will be described more fully below.

The listing 3102 is contemplated to encompass the data set of theusers/call recipients that the enterprise desires to contact, so theenterprise data sharing administration system 3020 is specific to thatenterprise. However, it is possible for the enterprise data sharingadministration system 3020 to be utilized by multiple enterprises eachwith their own data silo for the contact information, so the system andthe associated data may be segregated accordingly with one enterprisebeing restricted from accessing the data of another. Although only asmall number of listings 3102 are shown in the exemplary interface 3100,some data sets of enterprises may number in the thousands to hundreds ofthousands. In this case, identifying only specific records of interestmay be desirable. As such, the interface 3100 may include a search box3128 in which various search terms may be entered to narrow the listing3102 that is shown.

FIG. 19 shows a screenshot of a subsidiary interface 3200 for editing asingle contact record and may be invoked by selecting the edit recordlink 3116 for a given one of the records 3104. The interface 3200includes an enlarged thumbnail 3210 showing the content that has beenselected to be presented to this user when called. Various attributes ofthe image may be edited by invoking a further subsidiary interfacetherefor with an edit image link 3212. A different image altogether maybe added from the local computer system from which the control panel3025 is accessed with an upload image button 3214.

The identity of the enterprise that will be presented to the userassociated with this record may be specified in a first text box 3216 aswell as a second text box 3218. To the extent a single text string isneeded (such as for company names), only the first text box 3216 may beused. In the illustrated example, the name “Vacation Dan The Man” isentered into the first text box 3216. The second text box 3218 may beused to specify a last name, where the first text box 3216 is used tospecify a first name. The number of the enterprise that is to initiatethe subsequent telephone call is specified in a third text box 3220. Anenterprise may utilize more than one outgoing telephone line/number, sothose additional numbers may be added by invoking an add number button3222. These telephone numbers may be stored in the native contact listof the user device 3010 and may serve as a link between the incomingcall and provided caller ID data, and the entry for the enterprise inthe native contact list.

A mobile device preview 3223 may show a more detailed view of the nativeincoming call display, with the caller identification and the sharedcontent being shown. Different mobile device platforms may render thisinformation and content in different ways, so an iOS preview may beviewed by activating an iOS button 3224 a, and an Android preview may beviewed by activating an Android button 3224 b.

The embodiments of the present disclosure contemplate the ability toassign specific content for different geographic regions in which therecipient may be located. For example, a phone call to be placed forsomeone residing in warmer climates may be presented with a differentvacation trip solicitation and accompanying images than someone residingin colder climates. In the illustrated example, up to four regions maybe selected via checkboxes 3226 a, 3226 b, 3226 c, and 3226 d, includingthe Northeast, the Midwest, the South, and the West, respectively. Theseare presented by way of example only and not of limitation, however, andthe system may be configured with any other geographic sub-region.Further, the number of regions need not be limited to four, and anyadditional or fewer number of regions may be administratively set.Clearing of multiple selections and making all selections of theregion(s) may be activated via the clear all button 3228 and a selectall button 3330.

Once the desired data is entered into the interface 3200, it may besaved/committed by activating the save button 3232. Thissaving/committing step may also be referred to as a data sharingcommand, as it is understood to be effective to begin the process ofsharing the updated data. Referring now to the screenshot of FIG. 20Athat shows the native contact list application interface 3300, thecontent/image is transmitted to the user device 3010, and the entryassociated with the enterprise is updated to reflect the name “VacationDan the Man” along with the corresponding telephone number as wasspecified by the administrator. According to some embodiments, thistransmission of the content and the identity information associated withthe enterprise may be included in a submission request. Once a call isplaced from this number to the user device 3010, an incoming call screen3302 as shown in FIG. 20B, the received content/image as saved to thenative contact list, along with the identification of the enterprise,“Vacation Dan the Man.” Other native incoming call screen interfaceelements are shown, but because the associated functions are known tothose skilled in the art, additional details thereof will be omitted.The interface 3100 as well as the various subsidiary interfaces thereofare understood to be the constituent parts of the administrative controlpanel for the enterprise data sharing administration system 3020.Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described inthe context of a telephone call, any other communication session that isinitiated from the enterprise may be substituted, including video calls,short message service (SMS) text messages, or any other type of messageor notification.

As indicated above, the content/image to be presented in the incomingcall screen interface of the user device 3010 may be modified by theenterprise in accordance with various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary implementation of a contentselection screen 3350, which may be a gallery or an array of imagethumbnails corresponding to the selectable images. The presentation ofthe thumbnails is by way of example only, and any other interface inwhich numerous images can be presented at once for selection by theadministrator is possible. Once a selection is made, it may be confirmedand committed by selecting the OK button 3360.

After this modification is made, the thumbnail 3210 and the mobiledevice preview 3223 in the interface 3200 are updated as shown in FIG.22. A notice regarding the modification may be generated to the impactedusers/recipients according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Referring back to the interface 3100 of FIG. 18, there maybe a “Notify All” button 3130. This notification may be made silently inthe background, or via a popup using the mobile device nativenotification system, and may be another variation of a communicationsession as contemplated within the scope of the embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

The notification itself may originate from the application on the userdevice 3010. FIG. 23A shows an exemplary notification interface 3400with mutually exclusive radio buttons 3402 a and 3402 b for silent andnormal notifications, respectively. With the silent notification radiobutton 3402 a selected, no other input or parameter is needed, and theupdate may be transmitted by activating a send button 3404. In thiscontext of a silent notification, there is understood to be no visualindication on the user device 3010, and is essentially effective totransmit the updates to the enterprise contact information. FIG. 23Bshows the notification interface 3400 with the normal notification radiobutton 3402 b selected. Because a visual indication on the user device3010 will be presented, text information describing the update may bespecified in a text box 3406, for example, “Updated Image”. An examplenotification is shown in FIG. 24 and the user device interface 3500,with a popup screen 3510 being presented in accordance with the inputtedtext.

The native contact list application interface 3300 shown in FIG. 25includes the updated content/image for the enterprise, and the incomingcall screen 3302 shown in FIG. 26 presents the updated content/image inthe background as well. This updating of the local record on the userdevice 3010 may be made indirectly via the enterprise applicationinstalled thereon, or directly via functionality programmed into thecontact list feature of the mobile device. The enterprise application inturn communicates with the enterprise data sharing administration system3020 via the SDK and its application programming interfaces (API).According to one embodiment, these APIs are REST (Representation StateTransfer) APIs.

As indicated above, it is possible to add new records via the add button3126 on the interface 3100. With reference to FIG. 27, the essentialfeatures of the subsidiary interface 3600 for adding a new record arethe same as those for editing an existing record. The interface 3600includes an enlarged thumbnail 3610 showing the content that has beenselected to be presented to this user when called. An image may be addedfrom the local computer system from which the control panel 3025 isaccessed with an upload image button 3614.

The identity of the enterprise that will be presented to the userassociated with this record may be specified in a first text box 3616 aswell as a second text box 3618. The first text box 3616 may be for thefirst name and the second text box 3618 may be for the last name, thoughonly the first text box 3616 may be use for company names. The number ofthe enterprise that is to initiate the subsequent telephone call isspecified in a third text box 3620. An enterprise may utilize more thanone outgoing telephone line/number, so those additional numbers may beadded by invoking an add number button 3622.

A mobile device preview 3623 may show a more detailed view of the nativeincoming call display, with the caller identification and the sharedcontent being shown. Different mobile device platforms may render thisinformation and content in different ways, so an iOS preview may beviewed by activating an iOS button 3624 a, and an Android preview may beviewed by activating an Android button 3624 b.

The record may be assigned to one or more of several geographicalregions. In the illustrated example, up to four regions may be selectedvia checkboxes 3626 a, 3626 b, 3626 c, and 3626 d, including theNortheast, the Midwest, the South, and the West, respectively. Again,these are presented by way of example only and not of limitation,however, and the system may be configured with any other geographicsub-region. Further, the number of regions need not be limited to four,and any additional or fewer number of regions may be administrativelyset. Clearing of multiple selections and making all selections of theregion(s) may be activated via the clear all button 3628 and a selectall button 3630. Once the form fields are populated, an add button 3640may be activated to commit the data to storage.

The system 100 and/or application server 110 of FIG. 1 and/or the system2000 of FIG. 16 may be wholly or partly embodied in a computer includinga processor (e.g. a CPU), a system memory (e.g. RAM), and a hard driveor other secondary storage device. The processor may execute one or morecomputer programs, which may be tangibly embodied along with anoperating system in a computer-readable medium, e.g., the secondarystorage device. The operating system and computer programs may be loadedfrom the secondary storage device into the system memory to be executedby the processor. The computer may further include a network interfacefor network communication between the computer and external devices(e.g. over the Internet), such as the mobile devices accessing the userinterface 1200, 1400 described throughout this disclosure using themobile application 1100.

The computer programs may comprise program instructions which, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations inaccordance with the various embodiments of the present disclosure. Thecomputer programs may be provided to the secondary storage by orotherwise reside on an external computer-readable medium such as aDVD-ROM, an optical recording medium such as a CD or Blu-ray Disk, amagneto-optic recording medium such as an MO, a semiconductor memorysuch as an IC card, a tape medium, a mechanically encoded medium such asa punch card, etc. Other examples of computer-readable media that maystore programs in relation to the disclosed embodiments include a RAM orhard disk in a server system connected to a communication network suchas a dedicated network or the Internet, with the program being providedto the computer via the network. Such program storage media may, in someembodiments, be non-transitory, thus excluding transitory signals perse, such as radio waves or other electromagnetic waves. Examples ofprogram instructions stored on a computer-readable medium may include,in addition to code executable by a processor, state information forexecution by programmable circuitry such as a field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA) or programmable logic array (PLA).

Throughout the above description of the user interface 1200, 1400 andother user interfaces of the mobile devices described herein, referenceis made to various means of user interaction, including tapping on orswiping various user interface elements. The disclosure is not intendedto be limited to such specific interactions and any known user-deviceinteractions may be applicable, including but not limited to keyboard,mouse, touch, gesture, voice, eye-tracking, etc.

Although the foregoing examples variously refer to images presented tousers, it is expressly contemplated that any data, including video data,audio data, text data, and any other data that may be visuallyrepresented may be substituted without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Although the foregoing examples refer to mobiledevices (e.g. smartphones, tablets, laptop computers) of the sender andreceiver, it is contemplated that one or both of the mobile devices mayinstead be a computing device other than a mobile device, such as adesktop computer. In this case, the mobile application 1100 be a desktopapplication (e.g. a web browser). As an example, a service provider maymake use of an enterprise interface in the form of a desktop computerfor sending out multi-media or visual notifications (e.g. appointmentconfirmations as described above) to consumer/customer mobile devicesaccording to the embodiments of the disclosure. Furthermore, along theselines, the specific embodiments described above with respect to certaincomponents performing the steps of the contemplated methods, that is,the functionalities being allocated or attributed to one mobile deviceor computing device or another, is likewise by way of example only andnot of limitation. For instance, an administrative module may beprovided to an enterprise via the aforementioned desktop application toperform one or more of the functions described above.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation.Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devisevariations that are within the scope and spirit of the inventiondisclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodimentsdisclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with eachother and are not intended to be limited to the specific combinationdescribed herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited bythe illustrated embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory program storage medium on whichare stored instructions executable by a processor or programmablecircuit to perform operations for enhancing data sharing, the operationscomprising: receiving, on an administrative control panel, a datasharing command including a selection of content, identity informationof a communication session initiator, and identity information of acommunication session recipient; and transmitting to a computing deviceassociated with the selected communication session recipient, asubmission request in response and corresponding to the data sharingcommand, the submission request including the visual content and theidentity information of the communication session initiator; wherein inresponse to a receipt of the submission request, local records on thecomputing device associated with the selected communication sessionrecipient are updatable with the received content and the identityinformation of the communication session initiator for presentation tothe communication session recipient upon an incoming communicationssession request.
 2. The non-transitory program storage medium of claim1, wherein the computing device associated with the selectedcommunication session recipient is a mobile device.
 3. Thenon-transitory program storage medium of claim 1, wherein the content isselected from a group consisting of: an image, a video sequence, anaudio sequence, and an interactive sequence.
 4. The non-transitoryprogram storage medium of claim 1, wherein the communication session isselected from a group consisting of: a telephone call, a message, ashort message service (SMS) text message, and a notification.
 5. Thenon-transitory program storage medium of claim 4, wherein the identityinformation of a communication session initiator is a telephone numberassociated therewith.
 6. The non-transitory program storage medium ofclaim 4, wherein the identity information of a communication sessioninitiator is text descriptor thereof.
 7. The non-transitory programstorage medium of claim 4, wherein the data sharing command furtherincludes a selection of one or more geographical regions to which thecommunication session recipient is associated.
 8. A method for enhancedenterprise data sharing to end users, comprising: receiving, on acontrol panel for an enterprise data sharing administration system, adata sharing command including a selection of content, identityinformation of a communication session initiator, and identityinformation of a communication session recipient; transmitting from theenterprise data sharing administration system to a computing deviceassociated with the selected communication session recipient asubmission request in response and corresponding to the data sharingcommand, the submission request including the content and the identityinformation of the communication session initiator; updating localrecords on the computing device associated with the selectedcommunication session recipient with the received content and theidentity information of the communication session initiator; initiatingthe communication session from the communication session initiator tothe communication session recipient; and presenting the updated contentand the identity information of the communication session initiator inresponse to the initiated communication session.
 9. The method of claim7, wherein the computing device associated with the selectedcommunication session recipient is a mobile device.
 10. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the local records on the computing device associatedwith the selected communication session recipient is a native contactlist of the mobile device.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein thecomputing device associated with the selected communication sessionrecipient includes an application that communicates with the enterprisedata sharing administration system through an application programminginterface to receive the visual content and the identity information ofthe communication session initiator.
 12. The method of claim 7, whereinthe content is selected from a group consisting of: an image, a videosequence, an audio sequence, and interactive sequence.
 13. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the communication session is selected from a groupconsisting of: a telephone call, a message, a short message service(SMS) text message, and a notification.
 14. The method of claim 7,wherein the data sharing command further includes a designation of oneor more geographical regions to which the communication sessionrecipient is associated.
 15. A non-transitory program storage medium onwhich are stored instructions executable by a processor or programmablecircuit to perform operations for enhancing data sharing, the operationscomprising: receiving, on a computing device associated with acommunication session recipient, a submission request including contentand identity information of a communication session initiator; updatinga local record on the computing device associated with the communicationsession initiator with the received submission request; receiving anincoming request to initiate a communication session from thecommunication session initiator independently of receiving thesubmission request; and presenting the content and the identityinformation as updated in the local record on the computing deviceassociated with the communication session recipient.
 16. Thenon-transitory program storage medium of claim 15, wherein the computingdevice associated with the communication session recipient has anapplication being executed thereon in communication with an enterprisedata sharing administration system from which the submission requestoriginates over a data exchange independent of the communicationsession.
 17. The non-transitory program storage medium of claim 16,wherein the local record is updated by the application on the computingdevice.
 18. The non-transitory program storage medium of claim 16, theoperations further comprising: generating an alert on the computingdevice associated with the communication session recipient in responseto updating the local record.
 19. The non-transitory program storagemedium of claim 15, wherein the content is selected from a groupconsisting of: an image, a video sequence, an audio sequence, and aninteractive sequence.
 20. The non-transitory program storage medium ofclaim 15, wherein the communication session is selected from a groupconsisting of: a telephone call, a message, a short message service(SMS) text message, and a notification.
 21. The non-transitory programstorage medium of claim 15, wherein the computing device associated withthe communication session recipient is a mobile device, the local recordbeing an entry in a native contact list of the mobile device.